Daiya Seto Rocks 100 IM, 400 IM, 200 Fly Tough Triple In Tokyo

63RD JAPANESE SHORT COURSE CHAMPIONSHIPS

• Saturday, October 16th & Sunday, October 17th
• Tatsumi International Swimming Center, Tokyo, Japan
• SCM (25m)
• Qualifier for 2021 FINA Short Course World Championships
• Entries (in Japanese)
• SwimSwam Preview
• Livestream

We saw one national record bite the dust here in Tokyo on day 1 of the 63rd Japanese Short Course Championships, courtesy of Yuya Hinomoto in the men’s 100m breaststroke. But, there were several other key swims from high-profile racers that made this competition a must-see event.

Short course world record holder Daiya Seto took on a tenacious triple of the 100m IM, 400m IM and 200m butterfly tonight, topping the podium in two out of the three races.

The versatile 27-year-old first took the 100m IM in a mark of 51.96, representing the only man of the field to get under the 52-second threshold. Following his lead were Juran Mizohata and Hiromasa Fujimori who touched in times of 52.59 and 52.62, respectively.

As for the 400m IM, Seto punched a winning result of 4:00.49, however, his victory wasn’t quite as decisive as the aforementioned event. Giving him a run for his money was up-and-comer Kaito Tabuchi, who finished less than half a second behind in 4:00.89.

Tabuchi made waves already this season in the long course pool, having put up a lifetime best of 4:11.80 in the 4IM at the 2021 Japanese Student Championships. That rendered him as Japan’s 6th fastest performer all-time in the event.

For perspective on Seto’s swim here, his fastest 400m IM of the International Swimming League (ISL) season as a Tokyo Frog King was 3:58.65 to top the league.

As for tonight’s dual, below is the split breakdown between Seto’s 4:00.49 and Tabuchi’s 4:00.89.

Finally, in the 200m fly, a fresh Tomoru Honda hit the wall first in a mark of 1:49.84 to Seto’s runner-up 1:50.36.

Honda opened in 52.82 and closed in 57.02 to establish himself as the #3 swimmer all-time in this 2fly event among Japanese men. His time here, a best by well over one second, now ranks him only behind Seto’s national record (and world record) of 1:48.24 and Takeshi Matsuda’s 1:49.50.

Two new national Japanese student records were established on the day, both on the women’s side of the house. Mayuka Yamamoto posted a lifetime best of 25.55 in the women’s 50m fly to set a new mark, finishing with the silver behind winner Ai Soma in the process.

Soma logged a winning effort of 25.07 to top the podium. Of note, two-time Olympian Rikako Ikee was also in the race, touching in 25.63 for 5th place.

The other student record came in the women’s 200m fly, with Kina Hayashi rocking a personal best of 2:03.55. Winning the race by over 2 seconds, Hayashi split 59.29/1:04.26 to produce the new mark and render herself as the #3 performer all-time in this event within the nation of Japan.

Kanako Watanabe was a double winner on the night, reaping gold across the women’s 100m IM and the 100m breast. In the former, she notched an effort of 58.44 while in the latter she snagged the top prize in 1:04.53.

The 1breast represents a personal best for the 24-year-old, overtaking her own career-quickest entering this meet of 1:04.70 from just last month.

Additional Winners:

• Miyu Namba topped the women’s 200m free field in a time of 1:55.42 while national record holder Katsuo Matsumoto got it done for the men in 1:42.33.
• Olympic icon Ryosuke Irie was unstoppable in the men’s 200m back, getting his hand on the wall first in a time of 1:49.82. That held off runner-up Naito Ryota who touched just .11 later in 1:49.93.
• Junya Koga was the top men’s 50m backstroke, getting gold in 23.16 while Naoki Mizunuma got it done in the men’s 50m fly field in 22.40 with a new personal best.
• Kosuke Matsui was the man to beat in the men’s 50m free, posting 21.18 to fall within .23 of his own national record of 20.95.
• Miki Takahashi posted the fastest 50m free time for the women in 24.42, beating Chiharu Igarashi‘s 24.54 and Ikee’s 24.57.
• Mio Narita took the women’s 400m IM in a new Japanese Junior High School Record of 4:30.83.